Bags of controversy over cenotaph display

Stark ... Omeima Sukkarieh, the artist responsible for the display,
said she had not intended it to be near the Cenotaph, a placement
that has angered the RSL.Photo: Dean Sewell

Jordan Baker and David HumphriesAugust 28, 2006

THE City of Sydney has come under attack from the Returned and
Services League for allowing hundreds of mock body bags - including
one labelled "your prime minister" - to surround the Cenotaph in
Martin Place.

The artist, Omeima Sukkarieh, said the display was supposed to
be a stark reminder of innocent lives lost in war. That it
surrounded a monument to real soldiers who were killed in war was
an accident.

"Honestly, I really wanted to have it either at Circular Quay or
Hyde Park," she said. "It was never intended to be Martin Place. It
was just the only place available."

Sukkarieh said she had complied with the City of Sydney
Council's protocols. "It was never meant to cause any disrespect,
and if it did I apologise," she said.

The national president of the Returned and Services League, Bill
Crews, said he would have been offended if Sukkarieh had staged a
political protest beside the memorial to make a point. But in this
case, the council should have been more careful.

"I take [the artist's] assurance that they didn't deliberately
do it at the Cenotaph, but in that case the onus comes on the
council for agreeing [to let it be] adjacent to the cenotaph," he
said.

The body bags each had an identity meant to shock, such as "your
daughter", "your prime minister" or "your doctor".

Sukkarieh said the display was intended to draw attention to the
victims of war, particularly those killed in recent conflicts in
Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

"There were some people who were not impressed and found it
disgusting," Sukkarieh said. "But what's going on is disgusting. I
respected everyone's opinions. It just made people think."

The body bag labelled "your prime minister" was not supposed to
refer to John Howard but to a generic prime minister, she said.

"One had an ambulance officer, a journalist, a doctor. Death
doesn't discriminate against people, and I think it's really about
us realising as human beings that, prime minister or no prime
minister, we are all the same."

The council was unable to comment last night.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs, Bruce Billson, said this
"graphic demonstration" showed "a lack of respect for our service
men and women who have given their lives".

"This could be quite traumatic for those who lost loved ones in
conflicts while serving our country," Mr Billson said.

He said there were many alternative sites that would have been
"more thoughtful and sensitive", and Martin Place was "totally
inappropriate".

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Stark ... Omeima Sukkarieh, the artist responsible for the display,
said she had not intended it to be near the Cenotaph, a placement
that has angered the RSL.